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Tsvangirai surrounded by paparazzi like a rock star

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai was surrounded by paparazzi like a rock star when he attended the extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community in Lusaka which was supposed to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis after the indecisive 2008 elections.

He, however, remained stoic and tight lipped in the front row throughout, according to a cable released by Wikileaks.

Tsvangirai had been invited to the summit by SADC but his main rival President Robert Mugabe did not pitch up. He was represented instead by Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The opening session was delayed by two hours due to the late arrival of South African President Thabo Mbeki who had to pass through Harare. Mbeki surprised everyone on his arrival when he announced that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zambian President and SADC Chair Levy Mwanawasa urged “calm and patience” but said the purpose of the summit was for SADC to develop a common approach to help Zimbabwe find an answer to the current situation that “reflects the will of the people”.

“We want to identify ways to help our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters,”

Mwanawasa said that the extraordinary summit was not meant to “put Mugabe in the dock”.

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The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.